Waterproof fabric and its manufacture



Aug. 30, 1927. 1,640,795

J. s. MILLER, 4R WATERPROOF FABRIC AND ITS IQANUFACTURE Filed Anril 1925 FIG. I.

WITNESSES V 1 N VEN TOR:

I W a I v TTORNEYS."

Patented Aug. 30, 1927. v

UNITED STATES" r 1,640,195- PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN STROTHER MILLER, 33., OF BAHWAY, NEW JERSEY, A SSIGNOB TO THE BARBER I ASPHALT COMPANY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION 01' WEST WATERPROOF FABRIC AND ITS MANUFAGTUBE.

Application filed April-29, 1925. Serial No. 26,603.

ill

practice in the manufacture of artificial leather.

At the present time, artificial leather commonly consists of a fabric base (either a so textile iabric or a felted one) coated with a film of dope mixture adapted to simulate leather in appearance and feel. Such a dope usually comprises a soluble cotton or pyroxylin varnish, with an admixture of castor oil or other suit-able oil to render the dried film flexible, and with suitable dyes or pigments to give the product the desired color. in order to give the product the necessary thickness or body, either the fabric base or the coating of dope (or both) must be relatively thick. This is practically disadvantageous, however, particularly owing to the relatively high cost entailed by the use of so much dope or of such heavy fabric.

l: have discovered that such drawbacks of present practice can bejovercome by employing a bitumen-coated fabric in such artificial leather or the like, instead of a plain fabric, as heretofore used; so that only arelatively; of the fabric.- Thus the fabric is thoroughly thin coating or film of leather-simulative Varnish or dope will be ,required,-or even, for some purposes, none at all. Preferably,

the fabric base is impregnated with bitumen before being coated therewith. If both sides of the fabric base be coated with bitumen (even though only oneisto be finished and exposed in use), the base will be protected from moisture, and the life of the product prolonged. On the side (or sides) of the product that is exposed in service, the dope coating protects'the bitumen from too easy abrasion or indentation; while the asphalt coating (coatings) give the necessary thicknose or body with much less dope than hereis with the following explanation of present tofore required, and with thinner (though not necessarily weaker) fabric.

In the drawings,

Fi I is'a perspective view of a piece of material embodying my present invention, with various outer layers removed over certain areas to show its construction.

Fig. II isa diagrammatic side view illustrating the manufacture of -such a product.

The piece of artificial leather shown. in Fig. I comppises a base 5 of any suitable fabric, here indicated as of textile character, such as a stout muslin. Preferably, this base j is impregnated and saturated with bitumen, as hereinafter described. In the present instance, the base 5 has a coat of bitumen 6 on both sides, but is finished with a surface film or coat 7 of dope or varnish on one side only.

Fig. H illustrates diagrammatically one method of manuiacturing such a product. As here shown, a web of the unimpregnated base fabric 5 is drawn from a" supply roll 11 by and between a pair of feed rolls 12, 12. From the rollers 12, 12, the fabric 5 passes down around a guide roll 13 immersed in a heated bath 14 of suitable molten bitumen, with which the fabric is thus 11npregnated and preferably saturated. The

impregnated fabric is drawn from the bath 14 by and between a pair of rolls 15, 15. Molten bitumen is delivered by a supply pipe 16 on top of the impregnated fabric in front of the upper roll 15. This upper roll 15 spreads the bitumen evenly over the fabric and the excess falls from the edges of the fabric into a trough 17. The lower roll 15, dipping into the bitumen in this trough or P511117, applies the bitumen to the lower side bitumen coating 6 of the fabric 5 a configuration simulative of a natural or an artificial leather finish or decoration, 'such as a grained, pebbled, or veined'surface, or any desired embossed or depressed ornamental design. From theirolls 20, 20, the bituminous ooated product passes over a. dope .or

varnish spray 21 (above a drip an or bath 22), thus receiving a thin sur ace coat or film 7 of the dope or varnish. This film 7 dries and hardens on the way to the roll 23, on which the finished product is finally wound-up.

For impregnating the base fabric 5 ma be used any bituminous material of suc properties that it will neither soften nor crack under the range of temperature to which it may be subjected in service: e. g., a composition of fluxed natural or artificial a halts. For stifler types of products, w ere pliability is not a factor, very hard saturatlons may be used; but when pliabi-lity is desired, softer saturations must be em- I ployed,such as are now used for impre atin the paper felt base of prepared roo ng. Tor the bituminous coating 6 may be used .abitumen of similar properties, except that it need not be sofluid or soft, since it does not have to soak, penetrate, and

- saturate the fibres ofthe base. A composition of blown or oxidized asphalt may be used, either with or Without softening oils (fluxed or unfluxed) The composition may and must be harder for stiffer or less pliable products, and softer for more, pliable ones. In either case, it must be of such melting point as to prevent undue softening under atmospheric temperatures. This minimum melting point may as low as 175 F,

Ring and Ball method. v c The dope or varnish employed for the surface finish may be such as now used for the manufacture of artificial leathers, as

above described, but preferably somewhat thinner in consistency, in order to give a correspondingly thinner-film or coating onv the bitumen-coated base. For example, a

pyroxylin or soluble cotton? varnish with an addition of castor oil to render it flexible,

and of dye or pigment to give the desired color, answers the purpose very satisfac-. torily. Such a coat 7 protects the finish,

configuration, or design imprinted in the bitumen by the rolls 20, 20.

av1ng thus described my invention, I cla1m:

1. A waterproof fabric of the character described, com rising a bitumen-saturated coated textile fabric varnished with a flexible leather-simulative varnish.

2. A waterproof fabric of the character 3. A waterproof fabric of the character described, comprising a textile fabric base saturated and coated on one face.with asphalt, and varnished on said coated face with a flexible colored pyroxylin varnish.

4;. A waterproof fabric of the character described, comprising an; asphalt-saturatedcoated textile .fabric base embossed. with a leather-simulative design on the coated face and varnished with a flexible protective leather-simulative varnish.)

5. The process of manufacturing a waterproof fabric of the character described which comprises impregnating and coating on one face a textile fabric base with bitu-' men, and varnishing the coated face with a flexible leather-simulative varnish.

6. The process of manufacturing a waterproof fabric of the character described which comprises imprinting a bitumen-saturated-coated textile fabric base with aleather-simulative design, and varnishing the coated face with a flexibl protective leather-simulative varnish. I

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name at Maurer, New Jersey, this 21st da of April, 1925.

J HN STROTHER MILLER, JR. 

